Crimson Strands
by Maira The Hedgehog
Summary: Amy finds herself falling hard for the new guy, Shadow The Hedgehog, but soon learns he has a dark secret. Can she help heal his damaged soul? What will happen when she learns that he's not the only one around her with a secret? And how deep will she be dragged into the supernatural world? (Rated T for blood, violence, and sexual content, ShadAmy & SilvAze and others)
1. The New Kid

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to any Sonic Characters. Shadow, Amy, Silver, Blaze, Sonic and all there friends are all properties of Saga.

I am rewriting and posting this story up new but a whole lot better… at least I hope it's better. If you have read this story in the past please let me know if its better than before.

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Amy Rose - a pink hedgehog with emerald green eyes and a fun loving bouncy personality - is the typical 16 teen year old high school student. She worried about what was the best outfits to wear to school, getting all her homework done, would the other students notice the pimple under her make up and would she pass the history or math tests coming up. She had recently become a cheerleader - a much more demanding activity then she had been aware of - alongside a friend named cream. She tied out as a way to spend more time with cream and her long time crush. Yes Amy's life was going exactly how she had always imagined and hoped it would go… she had everything going perfectly or at least… until a series of events were to be set into motion that would change her view on her life forever.

Amy was sitting in the third row of her home room - a block of classes that included history, English and math all in the same room. She glanced over at Sonic - a happy go lucky blue male hedgehog with green eyes - sitting in his seat in the front row. He had an ear bud in one ear trying to hide them from the teacher so he could listen to music in class.

Sonic hadn't said a word to her senses the incident. In fact he had been avoiding her altogether, he never looked at her when he walked past in the halls. 'Is he ever going to stop all this?' Amy thought to herself. It had been almost 3 weeks since he had broken her heart.

_**~ Flashback ~**_

It was late in the evening as Amy was heading back to her house. She had just been at the after party for the soccer game that took place earlier that day. The party lasted longer than she had expected and the sun was already almost down, she wanted to get home quick before it got too dark. But as she was walking she spotted Sonic - Captain of the soccer team and her long time crush - standing on the sidewalk walking the other way.

Amy gasped excitedly, she knew he had just been at the party but she didn't get a chance to talk to him alone. Ether his soccer teammates were around him or one of her fellow cheerleader friends wanted her for something. Now was her chance to have some alone time her favorite blue hedgehog. "Sonic," Amy yelled as she began running towards him. She giggled to herself glad that all this cheerleader training was increasing her stamina.

Sonic's ears twitched at the sound of her voice, "STOP!" He yelled at her not turning around, "Not another step!"

Amy slowly came to a stop as ordered but did not understand, "But, Sonic!" Amy asked, her voice starting to fill with worry. Amy could see his quills were razed up clearly showing agitation, something was wrong. His hands were formed into clenched firsts at his sides and every muscle in his body seemed to be tight.

Sonic turned halfway with his shoulder in her direction and his head turned to face her. "Just, get away from me Amy!" Sonic shouted a look of anger on his face as she stood there stunned. This was not normally for the light hearted hedgehog she had come to know over the years, in fact this was the first time she had ever seen him acting this… cold.

'This can't be happening,' she thought to herself as tears started to fall from her eyes. "But… Sonic… I don't understand." The pink girl takes another step towards her crush, if only she could get to him, if only she could be with him. Maybe if he would explain to her what was wrong, she might be able to help him, "what's wrong? Why are you acting this way?"

"I am sick of this Amy, I'm sick of you always chasing me around and always clinging to me. I'm sick of hafting to get away from you, can't you just leave me alone for a change... just stay AWAY FROM ME!" Sonic yelled before he turned and ran off with his super speed disappearing into the distance.

Tears continued to stream down her cheeks as she fell down to her knees, his words cut deep into her heart, "Sonic… I'm… sorry."

_**~ End of Flashback ~**_

"Maybe Blaze is right, I should just move on," Amy whispered to herself looking at her desk. She takes a long deep breath as she tried her best to not let tears come to her eyes 'I will move on and I'll find someone better,' She paused a moment then looked back at the blue blur she formerly considered hers. "Who could possibly be better than Sonic?"

"O, Class I need your attention," The teacher said from the front of the room. Amy really was not in the mood for another pop quiz and quickly zoned out. "It appears we have a new student today, why don't you introduce yourself."

"The name is Shadow, Shadow the Hedgehog," This deep mysterious voice caught Amy's attention and her eyes bolted up to see who it could belong to. Her heart skipped a bit at the sight of him, standing next to the teacher was a male hedgehog. His fur and quills where a perfect black, the intensity of which only matched by the faultlessness of a small tuft of white fur on his chest. He had streaks of crimson red fur along his arms, legs and through is quills as well. Amy had never seen anyone with these kinds of markings before or a hedgehog whose quills turned up like this.

But it was his eyes that really caught her attention, like deep endless pools that ran red with blood. She felt as though she could get lost in them as he looked about the room. Suddenly his crimson gaze locked on stunned emerald's and Amy froze in her seat. In that instant time stood still around them, nothing happened, nothing moved, all she could hear was the pounding of her heart in her chest. There was no one, nothing else in the room but her and those red eyes. She could feel as heat began to prick at her checks unable to control the blush. Her heart racing faster as she watched his lip slowly curl up into a rather seductive smirk. Her heart skipped a bit, she couldn't understand what this was that she was feeling, but it was surely intense.

Just as quickly as their eyes had met the new male - Shadow as he had introduced himself - quickly looked away and back at the teacher who had resumed talking. Amy had not heard a word of it thanks to the hold those crimson eyes had over her just moments ago. "Wow!" Amy whispered while watching him walk to a seat on the other side of Sonic where the teacher had told him to sit, "he's just… wow."

"Have you ever seen someone with that dark of fur before? I didn't even know fur could get that black," Tekal - an orange echidna, one of Amy's friends sitting on her left - said leaning her direction. "And that white little fluff… what a contrast!" by the sound in her voice she was clearly impressed with this newcomer, but who could blame her, his appearance definitely stood out.

"I can sense he's got a lot of strength," Blaze - a purple cat, another of Amy's friends who sat to the right side of her - said as she watched the new stranger, "and power!" Blaze had always had a gift for sensing the strength of another and was hard to impress.

"I hope Sonic doesn't annoy him too much," Tekal commented as the blue hyperactive hedgehog introduced himself to Shadow. "He looks like he could be easily angered," neither of the two realizing that Amy was still staring at him.

"His emotions seem hard to read, in fact… I can't seem to read much off him," Blaze commented then noticed as a light gray, almost white male hedgehog sitting on the other side of Sonic joined the conversation. "Silver will make him behave," Blaze smiled at her overly naïve almost boyfriend.

**. ~ ~ ~ .**

"And that's why I never bungee jump in public," Sonic finished explaining to Shadow who was having a hard time not laughing at Sonic's stupidity. The expression on Sonic's face was rather pleased despite the embarrassing story.

"Sonic your such a spaz," Silver commented, his hand on his forehead remembering that incident with far too much clarity. He ran his hand up his forehead and back over his quills, "I'm never going to be able to look at peanut butter the same way again."

Shadow just closed his eyes shaking his head, it was all he could do after hearing that story. But then he noticed something out of the corner of his eye which quickly evaporated the smallest hint of a smile that had been threatening to erupt. With a sigh he looked back at Sonic, "Do you know what's the deal with that pink hedgehog a couple rows back?" Shadow asked slightly motioning in her direction. "She's been staring over here all morning," he added slightly annoyed.

"She's still at it, this is why I avoid her. I knew she wasn't over me yet," Sonic said getting annoyed himself. He quickly folded his arms over his chest, his demeanor and body language turning rather frustrated and pouty.

"O, that's just Amy Rose, she kind of has a crush on Sonic," Silver explained trying to put it nicely. Silver still considered himself to be one of Amy's friends despite the awkwardness that had come about sense that incident.

"More like an obsession if you ask me, that girl won't leave me alone," Sonic blurted out throwing his hands up in the air. At this point he didnt care if she had heard him or not, he was really getting tired of always running and hiding from her. "I don't know what else to do to get it through her head that she needs to stay away from..."

"Sonic!" Silver quickly said cutting him off, "don't be so mean to her, you could at least be her friend." Silver then looked over at Shadow who had a slightly puzzled look on his face, "he's not normally this mean to anyone."

"Yes, I do, or she is never going to stop," Sonic said pouting more.

"Sonic, you remember who your talking to right?" Silver said waving his hand to get Sonic's attention. "Why don't you just tell her, I think she would understand."

Sonic send a cold glare over at the hedgehog next to him clearly upset by that comment, "You of all people know why I can't do that. You also know I was friends with her before all this started. I wouldn't mind being friends with her if she would just stop chasing me and act like a normal girl for once," Sonic added trying to think of a way to change the subject, "like Blaze."

Silvers' face started turning pink just at Blazes' name. He quickly turned away from the other two and looked down at his desk, "Who's Blaze?" Shadow asked, noticing Silver's strange reaction.

"Blaze is that purple cat next to the pink nuisance… and just happens to be Silver's girlfriend," Sonic said with a devious looking smile, this would get the conversation off him and Amy for sure.

Silver's eyes widened when he said that getting even more nervous. He quickly turned back in the blue hedgehog's direction, "Sonic you know she's not my girlfriend! Blaze hates it when people assume things like that. I don't want her getting mad at me because you keep telling people stuff," the nearly white male said, his face turned even redder.

"That's only because you're too shy to ask her out," Sonic teased looking over at Silver. "It's obvious that she likes you and wants you to ask her."

"What if she said no, I don't want to jeopardize our friendship? I don't want to lose her just because I don't know what I'm doing," Silver said clearly very nervous about the idea of asking her out. It was obvious by his reaction that he cared a lot about Blaze and would love to ask her out but was afraid to mess something up. Now silver was trying to think of his own subject change, but lucky for him, he didn't have to work hard because the bell rang.

"Yay, lunch time!" Sonic yelled jumping out of his chair full of excitement. He quickly shoved all his school supplies into his bag in a half hazard sort of way.

"Is he always like that?" Shadow asked, looking a little concerned.

"Just around lunch time… and PE… and when schools over…" Silver replied then poses for a moment as he contemplated all the times he acted crazy. "Ya… Sonic's pretty hyper, but he's a good friend to have around," Silver explained packing up his bag as the ebony male did the same. "Why don't you come eat lunch with us? It's normally just me and Sonic eating outside, but it can be a nice place to talk sense its rather quiet out there."

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have a better offer," Shadow said kind of joking a little as he and Silver stood and the three hedgehogs walk out of the room and towards the cafeteria. After grabbing their lunches Shadow followed his new _friends_ to their normal table outside. "So why do you eat out here again?" Shadow asked as he noticed Silver gazing through the glass doors at Blaze inside… yet again.

"O, Sonic doesn't want to run into Amy in there," Silver explained turning his focus back to their table. He stared down at his tray of food with a lack luster sense of boredom about it. "Thou I would much rather they made up so we could get back to sitting with the gang again."

"I'm not going back till she's done obsessing, and that's clearly not going to happen for some time." Sonic grumped shoving a chilly dog in his mouth.

"Grate," Silver complained as he turned back to glance at Blaze who was laughing happily at something. He let out a deep breath clearly filled with sadness as his ears dropped. "Will I ever get to sit with her again," he whispered unaware that shadow herd him.

The blue hedgehog then nudged him in a slightly rough but still playful manner to get his attention back to their table, "Come on, who needs some silly girls when your out here with me, your big bro."

Shadow blinked looking at the two a little confused, "the two of you are brothers?" Shadow asked, it was hard to believe sense they looked so different.

"Well, not technically brothers, we have different parents," Sonic replied then takes a bite of his next chilly dog letting Silver decide if he wanted to explain more.

Silver let a sad little sigh escaped him before looking over at the new hedgehog. "After my parents were killed I was bounced around in the foster care system for a time. After a particularly bad incident Sonic's parents found me and took me in." Silver explained though it was clear by the sound in his voice that it was a hard thing for him to talk about. He then smiled a bit as his demeanor lightened up, "Sonic has looked after me like a big brother ever sense."

Sonic grabbed Silver's head roughly in a head lock and started messing up his quills, "and I will always look after my Little brother!"

"Hay, stop that Sonic," Silver demanded trying to fight back against the blue hedgehog's hold. "You're less than a year older than me you know!"

"Ya, but that still makes me older," Sonic said with a laugh almost knocking Silver out of his chair in the process. Suddenly the blue speedster got wite eyed, "no, Silver... not THAT," he blurted out as he quickly let go of the younger hedgehog and fell back into his chair laughing uncontrollably. "You know... I hate... being tickled!" he spat out between fits of laughter.

"Well you started it, BIG brother," Silver said in a taunting sort of fashion. He holding up his glowing hands using his telekinesis to tickle him. He was definitely pleased to have taken the upper hand away from Sonic.

"Ok, OK, uncle, uncle, I give up, you win already," Sonic quickly blurted out trying to get the tickling to stop.

"You always told me that my powers would be useful someday," Silver said as his hands stopped glowing as a pleased smile came to his face.

Sonic just turned away from the almost white hedgehog clearly pouting, "Oh shut up Silver, you know that's not what I meant!"

Shadow watched the two interacting with amusement, it was clear they were very close. Although this brotherly relationship they had was a foreign concept to him, he knew what is was like to want to protect someone he cared about and could see that in how Sonic felt for Silver. Blood or not, they were brothers!

After they all finished their lunches and the bell rang they got up and went back inside to join the scattering masses heading for their next class. Shadow turned around a corner to hear a loud high pitched scream as his vision was filled with pink. Before he knew what was going on the blur of pink slammed right into him at high speed, knocking him to the ground.

Shadow's heart practically stopped as he realized he was now lying on the floor with a young girl lying right on top of him. Shadow's nose twitched and brushed up against hers, instantly his eyes widened and his whole body froze.

**. ~ ~ ~ .**

Amy slowly opened her eyes when she felt something lightly brush against her nose. Right in front of her eyes was Shadow's own crimson eyes gazing at her as their noses lightly touched. They looked into each other's eyes as seconds seemed to drag on for minutes. Amy's heart was beating faster and faster as she felt a lump form in her through, she tried her best to swallow it but nothing worked. It was just like before in class, she felt like she was getting lost in those intense red eyes.

Suddenly she glanced down and realized that she was lying on top of him. Her knees and shins where on the floor on either side straddling him. Her breasts and upper body were resting on his chest as her arms where on either side of his head. With a loud high pitcher gasp she quickly tried to jump to her feed but only ended up falling back to her but as she scrambled to move off and away from him. "I am so sorry, I didn't mean to… I mean I… I…I'm so sorry," She quickly and franticly blurted out.

Amy watched as Shadow quickly razed himself back to his feet, his movements looked so effortless as if he had practically floated up off the ground. He was facing away from her so all she could see was his back. "You should be more careful," his voice was harsh and as cold as ice with a touch of venom, it sent a chill of fear down her spine. Without another word he continued walking in the direction he had been going. His body was stiff, his quills raised on end and fists clenched at his sides as he walked. The other kids in the halwas stayed clear out of his way, staring at him in silence as he walked right past everyone.

Amy sat there on the floor, her ears folded back nervously as she watched him turn around a corner and out of sight. "He seemed… really pissed… I messed up big time."

"Are you ok Amy?" Blaze asked as she walked over to the stunned and teary eyes pink hedgehog.

Amy sniffled and rubbed her tears away from her eye with the back of her hand. "Ya, I think I will be ok, I just made a fool of myself… again."

"No, not that," Blaze said kneeling down next to her friend concern clear on her face. "White I know that was also painful I was primarily referring to your knee," Blaze said glancing down.

Amy looked down to see that her knee was pretty badly cut, it must have hit a cracked tile as she fell. Amy got wide eyed, she hadn't even noticed the injury with all the stress revolving around herself landing on the new guy. She winced as the pain from her knee finally registered in her thoughts. "Ya, I will be fine, it's not that deep."

"You should probably go to the nurse anyway," Blaze commented as she stood up and reached a hand down to help her friend to her feet. Amy nodded and the two walked together to the nurses office, but she couldn't help but glance down the hallway were Shadow had stormed off and wonder how pathetic he must think she is.

**. ~ ~ ~ .**

Later that night in a rough and shady part of town a black and red streaked hedgehog stood perfectly still in an abandoned alleyway. He takes a long deep breath, "Is this plan of mine really the best idea," he said allowed into the darkness. "I have already proven that I am just as unpredictable as ever."

The ebony male then look down to a female rabbit limp in his arms. "You think that it's a bad plan don't you," He said to the girl as he stared into her wide glazed eyes. "That's what I thought," he added before opening his arms letting the rabbit fall to the ground.

The crimson stained hedgehog whipped some blood from his hand off on the rabbit before stepping over her cold, blood soaked body. "I had better get home and get some rest, don't want to fall asleep in class tomorrow, they might start to get suspicious."

* * *

**WAIT! Did Shadow just kill someone?! why?**

Sorry that Sonic is kind of being a bit of a jerk here but don't worry this is only temporary. Yes this story starts a little slow but things will start to get more interesting around chapter three or so.

Tell me what you think of this chapter. What's your favorite part… least favorite part…Leave a comment and you just may get shout out / response in the next chapter!


	2. Second First Impression

Ariel - Thank you so much for giving me my first review on his story and I am so glade you enjoyed it. The first few chapters should come up rather quickly so hopefully you wont have to wait long.

It wasn't until I read the last chapter over again that I realized it had a lot of Sonic and Silver in it LOL, it just seemed to fit and I just adore Silver. Well here we are finally getting into some info on our favorite** Edgy Hedge **and some cute **ShadAmy fluff**!

* * *

The next day Amy takes a seat in her science class which she had right after lunch. She takes a long deep breath as she put her book on her desk, at least today was going better than yesterday. After her accidental and quit literal run in with Shadow she hadn't seen him the rest of the day. A roomer had been floating around that he had ditched the second half of classes on his first day. This roomer combined with his appearance and seemingly introverted nature had already started to give the dark hedgehog a rather bad boy reputation.

At first, Amy was a little worried about him, that is until this morning when she saw the crimson stretched male sitting in their home room class. He was talking to Sonic and Silver and looked as though nothing could possibly be wrong. She pondered over it for a time before deciding there must be more to the story then the roomers would lead one to believe. Just then Amy hears some one clear their thought polling her out of her thoughts. She looked up and gasped seeing who was trying to get her attention.

"Is this seat taken?" The ebony hedgehog asked looking down at the pink female. Shadow's voice was deep and smooth, sounding very different from the ice cold venom tinged words of yesterday. His demeanor seems confident but calm and unthreatening, a stark contrast from the stiff, aggressive and agitated body language he bared walking away yesterday.

Amy could feel her face heating up as a blush came to her face just looking at him. Suddenly she gasped realizing she had not responded to his question and fearing to upset him further she quickly shakes her head. "no," she blurted out faster and louder than she intended. She quickly looked back to the table in front of herself trying to speak more naturally, "no, it's not taken."

Shadow nodded in acknowledgement of her statement and pulled out the chair to take a seat. Amy stared down at her science book on her desk not knowing what to say to him. In the back of her head all she could think about was how she had ran into him and how he stormed off after that. Her thoughts kept drifting to her face so close to his as their noses touched, the sensation of her body straddling his and the heat she had felt surging through her body in result.

The blush on her checks deepened slightly as she stared down at her book unable to pry her thought off that moment. But then her mind would shift again and memory of his harsh voice would freeze all heat that had surged into her. Shadow - unaware of the dilemma within her head - cleared his thought as he turned to face her, "It was Amy, right?"

"Oh," Amy said surprised once again by his calm voice as she turned back to face him. "Uh… ya, that's me, Amy Rose," She replied forcing a fake smile on her face trying to hide how nervous she was. "And your... Shadow right?" Amy replied but she knew she was right, after all, who could forget how perfectly his name matched his black fur.

Shadow merely nodded to acknowledge that she was correct. Amy quickly looked back at her book as her nervousness flaring back to the surface, a behavior that Shadow picked up on, "Is something wrong?"

Amy's eyes widened not wanting to offend him any further than she might have already. "Oh no, I just wanted to say..." She started to say blushing a bit as she looked back over at him. "I… I'm sorry about yesterday," Amy commented then looked back down, "ya know… for… falling on you."

"Don't worry, it was an accident," Shadow's voice was strong and deep but it showed no sign of agitation or resentment. Noticing that his statement did not elevate her nervousness he decided to continue. "I hope my quick departure did not make you think I was offended, that was not my intention."

"No, no, not at all," Amy blurted out waving her hands but this only cases the black hedgehog to raze an eye brow. Amy blushed a bit and looked down, "ok, so… ya I might have thought you were upset about it," the pink girl then looked back up at him again starting to feel a bit calmer about the situation, "it's nice to know that your not, thank you."

The slightest hint of a smile appeared on his face as he nodded to her acknowledge her acceptance of his explanation. He then returned his attention to his bag to pole out his own book putting it on the table. Class wasn't going to start for another 5 or so minutes so this gave Amy the idea this might be her best chance to talk to him seeing as how sonic wasn't around. "So uh… how are you liking it here so fare? I noticed that Sonic and Silver were helping to show you around again today."

Shadow just chuckles and shaking his head a bit at the mention of their names. "Yes, they are rather persistent about it," he replied with a bit of amusement in his voice, "But they mean well and it's been awhile since I have been around people so genuinely interested in helping."

Amy was a bit concerned by his choice of wording and wondered about it but decided it would probably be best not to pry. "I'm glad Sonic is not bothering you too much, he can be kind of…"

"Crazy, hyperactive, random," Shadow replied glancing over at the pink girl out of the corner of his eye hitting the nail right on the head.

Amy giggled a little bit at that assessment, "Ya, that's Sonic for ya." Amy then blushed a bit and looked back at her desk, "but he's a really nice guy when you get to know him and he's very loyal to the people he cares about."

"Yes, I can see loyalty is important to him just in the way he interacts with Silver," Shadow replied then shrugged. "But to answer your initial question, I am acclimating well and feel there is much I can accomplish at the school."

"Where did you transfer from?" Amy asked getting rather curious to know more about this mysterious newcomer. She then posed realizing she might be prying too much, "well uh… if you don't mind me asking," she said ears folding down a bit.

Shadow lets out an amused chuckle and looked back over at her again. "I don't mind, I figured people would be curious and anticipated such questions. If I don't like the question I just wont answer it," he said plainly, looking back at his table. "But to answer your question, I came from the Atlantic Region of Kronos, but most locals just refer to it as ARK," Shadow replied.

Amy blinked for a moment as that name sounded familiar in her head, "I think I might have heard that before, ARK," She said with a thoughtful expression as she looked up at the far wall deep in thought, 'where might I have hurt that before?'

Shadow looked at her for a moment with a bit of a pondering but skeptical look. He then shrugged it off and went back to looking at his desk. "It's also a name for a type of bot, that's more likely were you heard the term from."

Amy let out an embarrassed little giggle "oh ya… that makes more sense."

"And what about yourself?" Shadow asked, "did you move hear from anywhere?"

"Oh no, I have lived in this area all of my life, several of My friends like Sonic, Tails and Cream have also been around here as long as I can remember," Amy explained. "The others have slowly moved here over time. Most of them went through their own time of being the new guy or girl, like Silver, Blaze, Knuckles and Tikal." Amy looked down at her table getting a bit of a sad look on her face. "Por Silver had a very hard time when he first came here. He was so shy and he got picked on a lot, but Sonic really stood up for him," Amy explained.

Shadow nods with understanding, "That's probably why they both want to help me so much."

Amy giggled, "Ya, that sounds like them all right." Suddenly she looked at the clock on the wall and realized class was about to start soon. Knowing they would not be able to talk during class she finally built up the courage to ask him the question she had been wanting to sense yesterday. "Hay Shadow, I hope you don't mind me asking this but…" She said pausing a moment looking down at the table. "What did Sonic tell you about me?" her voice a little week.

The black male didn't seem offended by the question but did take a moment to collect his thoughts on how to respond. "Not much, just the normal stuff that guys say about girls. I really didn't pay much attention to the specifics. I prefer to form my own opinion of people," Shadow said calmly not looking up from his work.

"O… that makes sense," Amy replied with a great relief as the stress of Sonic possibly turning Shadow against her was lifted off her thoughts. "I… would like a chance to get to know you better, if that is alright with you," Amy said looking back over at him with a bright smile.

Shadow looked at her for a moment and in his eyes there was a glimpse of contemplation. But then he ever so slightly smirked and nodded, "I think that would be doable."

Just then the teacher stood up as the bell rang signaling to start class. Amy opened the book to where she was told to but glanced back at Shadow who had just done the same. 'Well… at least now I know I didn't make a complete fool of myself'

. ~ ~ ~ .

Earlier that same day Silver and Sonic walked into their first class to see Shadow already sitting in his desk reading a book. Sonic chuckled as he walked over and put his hands on Shadow's desk. "Hay, if it isn't Mr. Ditcher, we didn't even know if you were ever come back," he joked in a tone that was clearly meant to be playing around.

"SONIC!" Silver yelled using his telekinesis to wake the blue hedgehog in the back of the head with one of his school books, "you are the worst, you are literally the worst!"

This only made Sonic laugh enjoying his little joke, "Oh come on Silv, he's a tough guy, he can take a bit of teasing. Plus I'm sure he can tell I'm just messing around," Sonic then quickly darted to his own seat and lounges back with his arms behind his head, "Am I right?"

Shadow chuckled as he looked from his book over to Sonic, "It takes a lot more than that to get under my skin." Silver just sighed in defeat, letting his head hang as he slumped his way to his own set.

The blue blur sits up, removing his hands from behind his head and looked back at Shadow. "But all joking aside man, what happened to you yesterday? You got the whole school talking about you."

Silver leaned forward a bit resting his arms on his desk so he could look past sonic. "People are saying that you ditched right after lunch?"

"Only been here one day and your already getting a rep," Sonic joked again as he leaned back in his chair again.

Black shoulders shrug not giving it much thought, "I don't really pay much attention to what people say or think about me. If people want to judge me for things they know nothing about then that's their problem, not mine."

"If it was something ether of us did… we never meant to offend you or anything," Silver added really hoping it wasn't their fault that the ebony hedgehog ditched. "You can tell us, we're just trying to help."

Shadow chuckled a little, the light gray hedgehog's kind hearted nature was very clear. "Don't worry, neither of you did anything wrong. Something come up that I had to take care of, that's all."

"Well, if you ever need help with anything just know that both Silver and myself are very handy in a tight spot. I know Silver would back me up when I say you can count on both of us if you ever need it." Sonic explained giving Shadow a goofy smile and a thumbs up. Silver also smiled nodding his head to agree to the speedsters statement.

Shadow smirked as he looked at the two, "Thanks, I will keep that in mind."

. ~ ~ ~ .

Two weeks passed sense Shadow started sitting next to Amy in science class. They were the only two from Amy's group of friends in that class and she liked the opportunity to talk with him without the others harassing them. It was never more than 5 or 10 minutes a day but it was better than nothing. Amy quickly realized that Shadow was not the type of guy who liked being in crowds. He preferred to interact with one or two people at a time and the more people were around the less he would interact. This was a stark contrast to Sonic who seemed to thrive the more eyes he had on him. So when Sonic and Silver where around the ebony hedgehog there wasn't enough space for her to join in, not to mention would talk about guy things.

That evening after school Amy walked out of the large mane double doors much later than normal. She had been helping one of her teachers with planning a special party for her class and it tuck much longer then ether had anticipated. When she finally reached the end of the covered area she realized it was pouring down rain. "Grate, the one day I left my umbrella at home," she said wrapping her arms around herself from the cold. She also did not have a jacket or any other way to stay dry.

"This was an unexpected storm," Said a voice from behind her. She turned around to see none other than Shadow walking up behind her.

"Shadow," Amy said rather shocked, "I didn't know any other students where still here."

"They had more tests they wanted me to take sense my records were lost at my last school," Shadow explained as he walked up beside her.

"Oh ya, I guess they're making you do a lot of extra tests then," The young girl commented receiving a nod from the male beside her. She looks back out at the raging storm, 'how and I going to get home?' She thought as she sighed heavily.

"Do you have a way to get home?" Shadow asked getting her attention again as he pulled out his umbrella. "It looks like a really bad one."

"No… not really, I left my umbrella at home," Amy said feeling a little embarrassed. "This is what I get for trusting the weather report."

"Maybe I should walk you home?"

Amy turned her gaze back to Shadow, "You would do that?" She asked eyes sparkling with happiness.

"If I wasn't willing then I would not have offered," Shadow said with a rather alluring sound to his voice as he took a step closer to Amy. "Shall we," he added holding out his hand to her and the umbrella over her head.

Amy began to blush as she was getting lost in those deep crimson eyes yet again. A flash of lightning shock her mind back to reality, "Yes, thank you," Amy replied as she takes his hand and linked her arm with his so they could both fit under the umbrella. Soon they were walking down the sidewalk towards Amy's house.

Despite the chill in the hair caused by the winds from the story, Amy did not feel the need to shiver. She felt surprisingly worm as she held onto Shadow's strong arm. The pink girl had to fight the urge to rest her head on his shoulder as they walked fearing that might make him feel awkward and regret his generosity.

They walked for a time in silence, the slight blush never leaving Amy's face. Slowly she glanced up at his face trying to read what he might be thinking as he stared straight ahead. Shadow - ever the astute observer of his surroundings - let out an amused chuckle, "do you need something?"

"Oh," the pink girl said a little startled as she turned her face back to staring forward, the blush on her face depending. "I'm sorry I… I didn't mean to stare."

Shadow shrugged a little in response, "I don't mind, I am used to it. I am well aware that my appearance draws the attention of others." Shadow explained not sounding at all annoyed by her staring.

Amy giggles in hearing that, "well ya, obviously your hot," the words burst out of her mother before her mind had a chance to evaluate them. She quickly covered her mouth with her free hand, eyes wide as dinner plates as she realized what she just said.

"Oh am I now?" Shadow replied in a playfully alluring tone. He let a very sexy smirk come to his face as he looked over at her from the corner of his eye, a very seductive glance. Amy's heart skipped a bit at the sight of it and her breathing began to accelerate. Her face flushed more than she ever remembered before as she felt a strange heat surge all throughout her body. The young girl never imagined that just one look could make her feel like this, "no wonder you keep looking at me."

"I-I-I-I-I," Amy stuttered frozen in her step. Between her embarrassment of letting those words slip out, Shadow's abruptly stimulating glance and his choice of words, the girl could not managed to force out anything else.

Shadow chuckled as he closed his eyes and looked away breaking the hold he had over her. "Your too easily frazzled Rose," Shadow replied with amusement.

"You… were just… messing… with me?" She staggered as her mind tried to understand what had just happened. Her eyebrows quickly lowered as a scowl came to her face. Her quills razed in slight agitation as she let out a huff, "You… you big jerk," her voice was frustrated but at the same time a little playful as she slugged his black shoulder. The hit clearly didn't hurt as he didn't even flinch.

After a moment of silence she started to laugh, all her nerves from before regarding her little slip up were gone, was that possibly his plan to begin with. Shadow himself chuckled a little pleased to see she had relaxed before they continued on there path to Amy's house. On the way they talked about all sorts of things from class assignments and tests to favorite sports, music and even favorite colors. Amy was a little shocked to find out that both of their favorite colors were red.

"Here it is," Amy said cheerfully as they were coming up to her house. They turned off the main sidewalk and continue up the path that led to her house, climbing the small set of 3 stairs. Unbeknownst to ether hedgehog, a small frog had been resting on the top step where Amy was about to put her foot down. The frog leapt trying to get out of the way but in the dark Amy couldn't tell what it was and screamed backing up. Unfortunately her other foot slipped on the wet concrete and she clamped her eyes shut when she started falling.

Shadow - acting very quickly - reached out to catch her before she could fall very far, dropping the umbrella in the process. "You alright there?" He asked looking down at Amy.

Amy opened her eyes sense she hadn't hit the ground and quickly realizing that Shadow was holding her in his arms. She looks up to his face and her eyes instantly locked in his crimson gaze. It was just like when she had knocked him over but this time he was the one holding onto her. Neither noticed as Shadow started slowly poling Amy closer to him as their bodies began to touch. His hands wrapped around her, one on her upper back the other holder her up arm.

Amy's face blushed at the feeling but her eyes did not dare to break away. Shadow leaned closer to her tilting his head ever so slightly to the side. Amy's heartbeat raced as her eyelids began to feel heavier every moment. Shadow glanced down briefly before quickly maneuvering Amy to stand up on her own. "I have to go," He said, his voice sharp as he quickly turned around and walking back down the path leaving his umbrella and Amy standing on her porch.

"What was that," She whispered to herself as she watched the black hedgehog disappear into the darkness of the storm.

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Yep, I just had to work the ARK in there some how LOL We are getting Vary close to learning Shadow's Secret, It should come in the next two chapters.

**Tell me what you think of this chapter. What's your favorite part… least favorite part…Leave a comment and you just may get shout out / response in the next chapter! Also don't forget to ask any questions you might have or purpose any theories you come up with.**


	3. Someone Has A Crush

The first time I posted this story these three chapters were all in one chapter (About as long as one of these chapters), that's how much more details I have added to this story!

**This is were things start to get interesting! **

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The next day Amy had gotten to class a lot earlier than normal. She waited anxiously as students slowly trickled into the room but was disappointed when Shadow did not come thru the class door. "He skipped?!" She said sounding very annoyed, she really wanted to see him and ask why he left in the rain without his umbrella. She had brought it with her to school today so she could return it to him.

"Amy, am I wrong or are you starting to get a crush on the new guy?" Blaze said with a puzzled look on her face as she leaned towards her pink friend.

"Why would you say something like that?" Amy said looking down at her work, her face bright red.

"I knew it, you do have a crush on Shadow!" Tikal said from the other side of Amy. Her voice had more excitement than Blaze's more reserved personality would express.

"No I don't, I just like to talk to him, and spend time… with him," Amy tried to protest but her blush only increased as she fidgeted with her pencil. "Ok, so I might… sort of… kind of... like him." Amy said looking up to Blaze then over to Tikal.

"I so knew it," Tikal replied so pleased to be right and happy that her friend had finally moved on from Sonic who was clearly not interested.

"There's nothing wrong with a simple crush." Blaze said with a soft smile. "Just be careful and don't let yourself get carried away again. We don't want a repeat of what happened with Sonic."

"Ok, I'll be careful," Amy said with a smile before she thought of something and looked back at Blaze. "Oh, I almost forgot, Cream wanted me to ask you both if you wanted to come shopping with us after school today."

"I don't know," Blaze said looking down at her bag, "I do have a lot of studying to do."

"Come on Blaze, Crema's mom gave her money to get us all food at the mall, plus their having a sail at your favorite store," Amy gets a sly smile on her face "and I can tell you all about how Shadow walked me home last night."

"WHAT!?" Both Tikal and Blaze said in unison with identical shocked expressions on their faces.

"No… he didn't," Tikal declared as Amy nodded still smiling, "he did?"

Amy giggled knowing she had them now, "If you want to get the story you will have to come with us."

"Alright, alright you win," Blaze said putting her hands up, "I will be there."

"I wouldn't miss this story for anything" Tikal added with a giggle of her own. Suddenly a thought came to her as she turned to the other girls, "speaking of stories, did either of you hear about Sonic and Shadow's race last week in their gym class?"

"Ya, I think I heard something about that," Blaze replied "I hear Shadow really gave Sonic a run for his money."

"I really wish I could have been there to see it," Tikal replied.

"Ya me to, it's good to hear that Sonic's finally got some competition. He has needed someone to deflate that cocky head of his for some time now."

_~ One Week Earlier ~_

Fifth period was starting as Shadow walked towards Sonic and Silver near the long track the students of this gym class would be running today. Sonic was clearly pestering the younger hedgehog who seemed to be trying to avoid something.

"Sonic, what is the point, we both already know I'm just going to lose," Silver protested folding his arms and trying to avoid looking at Sonic. "If I'm not allowed to use my telekinesis - which we both know the teacher has said many times that I can not in class - then we both know I'm too slow."

"Oh come on Silver, you may not be as fast as me but your faster than almost everyone in school and your getting faster the more you practice," The blue hedgehog explained trying to remind Silver of these facts. When this didn't seem to be working to convince him he continued, "what if I run backwards, you should be able to keep up with me that way."

Shadow chuckles as he reached the two, "trying to force Silver to race you?"

"Yes he is," Silver said glaring over at Sonic who just shrugged not even going to try to deny it. "Because I'm the only one he can convince to race him anymore. Running is Sonic's favorite thing in life."

"Ya it is and I just so happens to be the fastest thing alive, that's why people around here are too scared to race me," Sonic boosted rubbing his thumb under his nose with a cocky smile on his face. "What about you shads, how fast are you?"

"I have always considered myself to be rather fast," Shadow replied in a very casual nonchalant tone.

Sonic's smile only depends at that response, "well then, care to have a little fun and see how you stack up against the best." Shadow shrugged and was about to respond but was interrupted when Sonic continued, "I bet you 50 rings you can't beat me."

Slowly a smirk came to Shadow's face as he considered the other hedgehogs offer, "Alright, I will take you up on that."

The two turned and started to head for the start of the long track where the other students were gathering. Silver quickly grabbed the blue speedsters shoulder, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Don't worry about it Silver, I got this," Sonic said waving his hands in dismissal of the younger male's statement. After all he was the fastest thing alive, what could go wrong.

"But Sonic you have to know…" Silver protested still following after the slightly older hedgehog but was interrupted.

"Come on bro, you know me, there's no way I can lose. See you at the finish line," Sonic called back before darting over to stand next to Shadow waiting for the teacher to signal for the start of today's run.

Silver sighed shaking his head realizing now that Sonic was too excited to have someone to race with to listen to his warning, "Well… I guess he has to learn this one the hard way."

"And… start," the teacher said and off they went. Quickly it was apparent to everyone the intentions of these two hedgehogs as they rapidly polled away from the other students in the class. The teacher did not mind racing as long as the students completed the track.

They ran down the track neck and neck for some time making great progress as they sped along. "Well, I am impressed, you really are quite fast," Shadow commented as he glanced over at the blue hedgehog.

Sonic glanced over at the ebony male beside him with a smirk on his face, "Yes, it would appear you are quite fast as well. I say your even faster than Silver," he commented but his smirk only grew more pleased, "but your still not as fast as me."

All of the sudden Sonic kicked into a higher gear and darted away from Shadow who kept up his pace slowly falling farther behind the blue speedster. After building a considerable lead Sonic laughed very pleased with himself, "See, I am the fastest thing alive, no one ever beets me!"

Coming near the finish of the track Sonic was feeling very comfortable with his lead, Shadow was quite a ways back. He noticed a group of girls watching nearby and decided to slow down a bit to make himself easier for them to see, still well ahead of Shadow at the pace he was going. He winked at them, "Hey ladies, come to watch me win again," he playfully flirt with them.

They all giggled whispered to each other clearly about him but that stopped as they all got shocked looks on their faces. "What?" Sonic said but before he could say anything else he felt a gust of wind blow right past him and looked forward just in time to watch Shadow run right over the line that marked the start and finish of the long track, wining the race.

Sonic got wide eyed in complete shock as he slowed down to simply walking over the line "what… but you… you where," he said looking back behind himself… "way behind me now your…" he continued looking back at Shadow who folded his arms, "how did you?"

Shadow chuckled then he walked right past the stunned and confused Sonic, "I knew your arrogance would get the best of you, I simply waited for it to make my move. You should really learn not to underestimate people, especially me."

Sonic quickly turned towards the crimson streaked hedgehog holding a fist up in the air, "I want a rematch, right here, right now, no one holds back!"

Shadow just chuckles as he keeps walking, "maybe next week, oh and you can bring the rings on Monday." The girls who had still been near by giggled about that and went back to whispered amongst themselves but this time... about Shadow.

Sonic growled with a bit of frustration and irritation at the fact that he just lost not only a race but 50 rings. "I tried to warn you," Silver said coming up behind Sonic having just finished the track himself, "but you wouldn't listen to me."

Sonic glared back at him, not really wanting to hear that. When the light gray hedgehog just raised an eyebrow Sonic realized he was just projecting his frustrations onto someone else. "Sorry Silv… but you know how much I hate losing," Sonic apologized as his expression lightened up.

Silver sighed putting a hand on Sonic's shoulder, "I know, which is why I was trying to warn you. If you had just listened to me you would have known to take Shadow seriously and not goof off."

He then turned back to watch as Shadow walked over and started talking to their PE teacher to wait for the rest of the students to finish the track. "You… You saw this coming didn't you. Sorry that I don't always listen to you, I'm going to have to work on that."

"Well, if it makes you feel better, you finally have someone who will be willing to race you more often," Silver pointed out giving his friend a big smile of encouragement.

Sonic laughed and put his arm over Silvers shoulders, "Ya, your right about that and I am so going to cream him next time."

Silver started to laugh as well as the two started to walk towards the teacher, "if you say so Sonic."

_~ Present ~_

"Are you serious?" Cream blurted out almost choking on her smoothie, "You told Shadow he was hot." Tikal and Blaze were both holding their hands over their own faces trying to suppress their laughter.

Amy's face was redder than normal as her friends were enjoying the story she was telling them about when Shadow walked her home. "I didn't mean to… it just sort of… popped out before I could think about it." She then shakes her head a bit trying to get rid of the blushing, "but then he started teasing me about it."

Tikal and Blaze looked at each other rather concerned upon hearing this. Amy waved her hand that was not holding her smoothie to get their attention again, "no no, not that kind of teasing, more like a friendly joking around kind of teasing. He almost seemed a little flattered by it now that I think about it," Amy said putting her hand on her chin trying to recall exactly what he had said and did.

"Well, as long as you don't make a habit out of it," Blaze commented.

"Yes I know, I can't let him think I'm as crazy and obsessive as Sonic has probably told him I am," Amy replied knowing already what Blaze was going to warn her about.

Tikal put a hand on Amy's shoulder, "we just don't want to see you get hurt again."

Amy smiled and looked at her friends, "I know and thank you, I'm glad to have such good friends around me."

"So what happened next?" Cream asked as they started walking through the mall again.

"Well, we just talked about stuff as we walked, it was a lot of fun getting to know him better. He is a really interesting guy and he likes a lot of things that I would never have expected," Amy replied. Seeing how they reacted to her accidentally telling the dark male he was hot she decided it would be best to keep her near fall and the almost kiss to herself for now.

Just then cream gets a call on her cell phone. She answered it and talked for a moment before turning back to her friends, "My mom is here so I need to get going, thanks for telling us the story Amy," Cream said as she turned and started to head for an exit.

"Your welcome cream, and see you in school tomorrow," Amy called out to her friend who waved goodbye.

"Ya, it's getting late, we should probably all be heading home," Blaze commented.

"Are you sure you can get home by yourself Amy?" Tikal asked with a bit of concern.

Amy giggled as she waved her hand a bit dismissing her friends concern. "Don't worry about me I will be fine, I walk home from this mall all the time. You two live in the opposite direction, it would be a waste of your time to walk home with me then have to walk all the way back past the mall to get to your homes. Plus If anything happens I always have my hammer to defend herself."

"Alright, if you say so" Blaze replied not able to argue with her logic, "just be careful and use your better judgement."

Amy giggled at Blaze's comment, "yes mom," she joked back at her friend.

Blaze and Tikal turned and started heading for the exit that lead in the direction towards their houses, "see you at school tomorrow," Tikal said waving.

"Alright, you see both," Amy replied waving back to them before turning to walk toward the exit in the direction of her house. Moments later she was walking down the sidewalk she had walked hundreds of times humming to herself. Suddenly she saw a blur of red and black run past about a block ahead of her and into a dark alleyway. "Was that... Shadow?" She said to herself. Despite her better judgment she decided to follow the blur. "Why would he be here after not being in school today?" It was dark out with only the moon shedding a tiny amount of light on her path as she tried to follow this strange blur.

Amy turned around a corner and saw Shadow leaning with his shoulder against the wall. His arm was braced against the wall like he was trying to hold himself up. His body was hunched forward a little and despite having his back to Amy she could tell his free hand was across his chest. His ears were hung down and quills were razed in agitation. His body shuddered slightly as he took a shaky step forward, "This was a bad idea," Shadow groaned not realized he was being watched.

Emerald eyes widened to see the ebony male in such a state, he looked to be in a great deal of pain but why… and how, he didn't look like he was injured. "Shadow!?" Amy called out, panic clearly evident in her voice. She started walking towards him, "What happened to you?"

"STOP!" Shadow yelled harshly, his voice sounding just like after she fell on him, full of Ice and venom, "Stay right where you are!" he spoke slowly, pronouncing each word very carefully and deliberately. It was as if whatever was wrong with him was making it hard for him to even speak.

Amy's ears folded back hearing this voice of his again. She was a little scared by it but that was slowly being overridden by concern. "But Shadow... something is clearly wrong with you. What happened to you?" Amy asked getting more worried by the minute.

When she tuck another step forward Shadow turns his head and glared at her. If a look could kill, this glare would have done it. His eyes were sharp and sparked with a glimmer of death. His eyebrows were about as far down as they could go. "Not another step!" his words came out as a growl.

Despite the harshness in his voice and eyes Amy could still see his body trembling as he continued to lean against the all. She chose to ignore his harshness for now, attributing it to whatever was wrong with him. "But I want to help you Shadow," Amy replied softly as she began to advance again, "pleas, let me help you."

"Get away from me Amy!" Shadow shouted his body quivering even more. His teeth were bared as he growled again.

"But Shadow..." She almost whimpered, tears building in her eyes. She couldn't believe that Sonic's words were now coming out of Shadow's mouth. Could this be a repeat of what happened with Sonic as Blaze would have put it. 'what could I have done that he doesn't want me to help him,' Amy thought.

"Just stay away from me!" He yelled even louder then turned away from her. He looked as though he was about to attempt to run for it.

"I knew it, your just like Sonic!" The pink girl yelled her words filled with sorrow and anger. She couldn't believe that she was about to lose another guy the same way. She wanted so desperately not to lose Shadow, why was she so desperate to get close to him?

"Amy, that… that's not what I mean," the ebony male said turning his body in her direction and taking a reluctant and hesitant step towards her.

"Your saying the exact same words he said," Amy cried letting her tears fall freely. She had told Shadow all about the incident with Sonic and knew that he understood what she was talking about.

"Please... Amy... you have to understand," Shadow said taking another unwilling step closer towards Amy. He was still leaning against the wall and was shaking more the closer he got to her but Amy was so distressed that she couldn't see the difference.

"Understand what Shadow?" Amy shouted tears still falling like water from a faucet. "Your just like him, I almost fell for it, I almost thought you cared about me."

Shadow suddenly pushed himself off the wall and closed the remaining distance between them. He grabbed her upper arms pinning them to her side. "I care about you, I just can't…"

"Just can't what Shadow?" Amy interrupted him looking into his eyes, they were not nearly as cold as they had been earlier. "You can't expect my help, you can't trust me? can't... love me?" The last one was said with a week voices as her eyes filled with great sorrow. She clearly remembered Blaze's words to be careful but at this point it was too late for that, this was all she could think to say to try and not lose him.

"Amy… I..." Shadow said before quickly leaning down to the distraught girl and forced his lips onto hers. Her eyes flared open with surprise as their lips met while his eyes slammed shut. She had never felt anything like this and quickly succumbed to it. He tilted his head to the side deepened the kiss and pulled her body closer to himself slightly squeezing her arms. She began to quiver under his immense and overwhelming strength.

Amy could not believe the emotions that poured out of this normally reserved hedgehog. She could feel sorrow, adrenalin, passion, desperation, but most of all desire, they were so intoxicating to her senses. She closed her eyes and began to kiss him back, giving him her heart and all that it held. This only made him deepen the kiss even more.

The ebony hedgehog released his hold on one of her arms in order to slide his hand along her back. Quickly he used this to pole her closer, pressing her body into his own and holding her there, wanting her to be as close to him as possible.

When his tongue slid into her mouth it was met with no resistance. She couldn't fight him not with how desperate she could feel he was. Secretly she was enjoying this as her first kiss. She felt as though her heart would explode from all the overwhelming emotions, both Shadows and her own.

Shadow finally pulled back leaving a thick string of saliva between there tongs. Amy panting desperately for air as without a word the ebony male leans down further and beguines kissing her neck. Amy instinctively leaned her head away making her neck more easily accessed. Soon Shadow switched from kissing her neck to licking in a very seductive manner.

"Sh-Shadow?" Amy whispered starting to get confused. 'why did he want me gone then suddenly kiss me,' she thought, nun of this was making any sense to her.

Shadow paused for a moment, letting his hot, heavy breath hit Amy's neck. This sensation sent chills down her spine. He closed his eyes and whispered, "forgive me!"

"What?" she whispered but it was far too late. Her eyes shot wide open as she felt a sudden pain in the sensitive flesh of her neck. Amy gasped trying to pole in air but nothing came. The pain increased deeper and deeper down into her body as if it was never going to stop. Her lungs begged for air as her heart race faster than a jet. 'What's going on?' her mind screamed but her mouth couldn't get the words out. She started feeling a warm liquid sliding from her neck and down her chest, it was as if her body was being drained. She felt helpless and frozen completely unable to even move a mussel.

Amy finally built up the courage to glance down but all she could see was the side of shadow's head. Was Shadow doing this? How was he? Why was he? "Sh-Shad-ow" she whispered again as her vision began to blur and she fell into utter darkness…

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**Tell me what you think of this chapter. What's your favorite part… least favorite part…Leave a comment and you just may get shout out / response in the next chapter! **


	4. The Dark Secret

I hope you all like this chapter, there is a lot of vary good and important information in his chapter that will be used latter plus your going to learn a lot about our favorite Black and red Edgy Hedge!

Amefloza13 \- Yes, you are right and I am sure you will be happy with the results!

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Amy groaned, her eyes slowly flickered open as she slowly fades back into consciousness. Everything was blurry and she had to blink several times to focus her vision. 'Where am I,' she starts to think to herself. Wherever it was, it was very dark except a small light that barely illuminates a three foot radius around here. The next thing she noticed was that she was laying on a couch. She squinted her eyes trying to look into the darkness to get a better idea of where she might be.

"So you're finally awake," A voice said. Amy quickly tilted her head in the direction of the voice till she spotted a faint, unrecognizable shape in the darkness. She tried to sit up but suddenly felt very weak and fell back onto her elbow. "Relax, you must be feeling rather dazed and light headed. No need to over work yourself, your safe now, I won't hurt you."

"Who are you? where am I? Why am I here?" Amy asked not taking much comfort in this persons words. Right now she was dazed and trapped in some unknown place with some person hiding in the darkness with some kind of unknown motives, to say this scared her would be an understatement. She continued trying to find a clock or window to tell what time it might be or anything that might tell her where she was. Slowly as her eyes got a little more accustomed to the darkness she began to make out some things. While her mind was still too groggy to make out inveigle objects she started to think she might be in the living room of someone's house.

"All you need to know is that you are safe, this is my home, nothing will happen to you here." The voice replied calmly thou it made no movement.

"Why did you bring me here? Why do I feel like this?" Amy asked then turned her attention back in the direction of the figure in the darkness. She could not make the shape out well but she could at least tell it was mobian.

"All questions will be answered," The voice said as it shifted positions. The voice was clearly male but she was still too drowsy to tell who. "But you have to promise me that you will try to not freak out. What I am about to explain is to be kept a secret, no one ells can know about this."

"Alright," Amy said with a large gulp not really understanding why she would agree to something like that without even knowing who she was talking to. "I promise, I won't tell."

Slowly the dark form began to move closer to Amy and the light. She quickly sat up realizing that she truly was dizzy. She pulled herself close to the end of the couch to use the armrest for support. As the owner of the voice stepped into the light Amy recognized him instantly. "Shadow!" Amy gasped as she sees his face looking down at her. "What's going on?" She started to feel a little safer but still very confused.

Shadow takes a long deep breath, "I'm sorry Amy, I didn't mean for any of this to happen," Shadow said his eyes filled with regret. "I was weak, I lost control... I'm so sorry." He looked away, he couldn't bare to look at her in her current state.

"Shadow, what are you talking about?" Amy said starting to get scared again. "What did you do? Why are you sorry?"

"I… I hurt you Amy… I lost control and I hurt you," Shadow replied before a brief silence. He then takes a long deep breath knowing he would have to explain more. "I am what most people would call a…" Shadow said then paused a moment looking down to the ground, "a vampire."

"What?!" She gasped, her eyes shot wide open as the memories came flooding back into her mind. Memories of him in pain and leaning against the wall then yelling at her to leave. Memories of her hart brake and him grabbing her arms. But most of all, memories of that kiss and of the pan of two fangs digging into her neck. "You're a… You're a" she stammered.

"Yes, I am," The dark male replied calmly, still not looking at her, "I am a vampire."

Amy was completely stunned by this information, Shadow - the guy she had a crush on, the guy she thought she had been getting to know - had turned out to be a blood thirsty vampire. All the sudden the realization dawned on her, she had just been bitten by a vampire. Terrifying thoughts began to flood through her mind as her body began to shake. "Am… am I…" she asked looking down at her hands unable to finish her sentence.

Luckily for her, Shadow realized the thoughts going through her head. "No your not… and your not going to. Changing someone into a vampire is a process that has to be done very deliberately, it can not be done on accident. At least that's how it works for my type," Shadow explained as he looked back over at Amy. Thou Amy was still looking down at her hands he could see the relief in her eyes as she stopped shaking. "I would never force this life upon anyone."

Amy blinked a moment as something Shadow said got stuck in her thought and started to gnaw away at her curiosity. "There are types of vampires?!" Amy asked looking back up to him rather confused.

Shadow chuckled a little within himself, out of all the things he just said that was the part that stuck to her. "Yes, just like there are different breeds of dogs there are also different types of vampires. I am kind of a less extreme form because I don't 'have' to drink blood to survive, I can sustain myself with other food sources," Shadow began to explain.

"But if you don't have to drink blood then, why did you?" The pink girl asked more cereus then anything.

"All though I don't 'need' blood to survive it is still technically the best source of food for me. But the biggest reason is because I get cravings for blood similar to how mortals get cravings for foods rich in nutrients their bodies are lacking. Normally they are easy for me to ignore or control but there are some days it feels like my whole body demands for it. When the cravings get that bad I can't control my actions."

Amy's eyes widened a little as she made the connection, "that's why you were trying to get me to leave. You didn't want to lose control and…" Amy said but then trailed off realizing that he had done that exact thing.

"And that's exactly what I did," He said sounding annoyed but mostly at himself. "I just couldn't do to you what that blue jerk did, I couldn't leave you thinking no one cared." Shadow said sitting on the other end of the couch. "In trying to prevent that I let myself do something far worse and now it's going to be even harder to fight," The black hedgehog put his hand on his forehead, closing his eyes.

"What do you mean?" Amy asked with a confused look on her face, "Why would it be harder?"

"How can I explain this," Shadow said opening his eyes up. "Well… You see…" he pulled his hand away from his forehead and looked at it as if the answer would be there. "I only ever bite people when they got too close to me on one of my bad craving days. Luckily they all tasted terrible," he explained getting a disgusted look on his face just thinking of it. "I had absolutely Ino/I desire to bite them again. But when I…" Shadow said trailing off unable to finish his sentence. He glanced over at Amy then quickly looked away. "But yours was different, I…" Shadow sighed hating the words that were about to come out of his mouth, "I liked it," he added sounding ashamed of himself.

The room filled with silence as they both stared at the floor in front of themselves as the magnitude of Shadow's last words folded over them. He liked the taste of Amy's blood and that would make it harder for him to resist taking more. Shadow leaned over, resting his elbows on his legs and his chin on hands of interlocked fingers. He closed his eyes, finally deciding to break the silence. "And that is why I have to leave," he said, his voice seemed colder and more emotionless than normal.

"What?!" Amy blurted out quickly looking over to Shadow still sitting on the opposite end of the couch. She could hardly believe what he had just said.

"I have to Amy, for both of our safety I have to leave. This is the last time we will see each other." The ebony male's voice only seemed to grow colder as if he was trying to separate himself from his words and his emotion.

"But Shadow I don't want you to go, I like talking to you and being with you," Amy pleaded leaning in his direction.

"All I'm going to do is hurt you," Shadow began to say. He opened his eyes glaring at the floor as he dug his claws into the back of his hands. "I already have," He added angrily, "and the cravings are only going to get worse. Your in danger just by being around me."

"I don't care Shadow, I don't want to lose you!" Amy said moving closer to Shadow again.

Shadow takes a deep breath, letting the tension in his muscles fade away, no longer digging his claws into his own hand. "I don't want to lose you either…" the stressed male admitted softly before his eyes went cold once again. "But knowing I am responsible for causing you pain… I can't do it," Shadow said standing up from the couch and moving away.

"You don't have to do this, I can handle some pane, I will get over it," Amy said jumping to her feet as well. Tears began to form in her eyes, she didn't know why this was affecting her so deeply, but it was.

"No Amy, I don't want to hurt you," Shadow stopped in his step and turned back around to look at Amy. The moment he saw her face he quickly looked down his own filled with shame, "That is why I have to go, it's the only choice left."

"Don't leave me," Amy said running over to the crimson streaked hedgehog and throwing her arms around him. She buried her face deep into the white fluff of his chest. "Pleas, don't leave me Shadow," She was crying desperately into him as her body began to quiver in fear, "Pleas!"

Shadow looked down at the crying pink girl desperately holding onto him. He hated the idea that he could so easily hurt her but he hated what he was doing to her now even more. "Alright, alright," he finally said embracing her in his arms, "I won't leave you, I promise."

"Thank you Shadow," Amy said closing her eyes and her tears slowed. As she started to calm down her adrenaline quickly left her body. She began to collapse in Shadows arms as he quickly caught her.

Shadow could feel her body was still weak from the loss of blood and gradually growing weaker. "Carful now, you lost a lot of blood," he said holding her up a little more. "You really need to rest to regain your strength," Shadow quickly realized she was not going to leave him and probably couldn't make it back to the couch on her own in this state. He sighed then picked her up as the pink female rested weekly in his arms. He turned and walked back to the couch sitting down himself with Amy still in his arms. She laid her head onto his shoulder still a little teary eyed as they sat for a moment in silence. "Did you have any more questions?" Shadow finally asked her in a soft tone.

Amy immediately got a thoughtful look on her face which strangely dried up the rest of her tears. "Do you like… sleep in a coffin?" Amy said looking up at his face.

Shadow completely cracked up laughing, of all the questions she could have asked that was the first thing that popped into her head. "Oh you silly girl," Shadow said shaking his head a bit a slightly smile on his face. "No, I don't sleep in a coffin, I have a traditional bed just like any normal person. Despite being a vampire I try to live my life with as much normality as my situation will allow."

"Oh, that's good," Amy replied with a bit of relief on her face. "Imagining you sleeping in a coffin would just be creepy," she added causing Shadow to chuckle. Amy then looked forward with a thoughtful look on her face, "If you know where my house is why did you bring me here instead?"

"Well, I live only a few blocks away from that ally we were in and I knew you would be safe here. I didn't want to leave you without an explanation but I also didn't want to be seen carrying around an unconscious girl with blood dripping off her neck." Shadow explained the logic of his chose.

Amy giggled a little at the last part of his explanation, "ya, I can see why that would not be the best idea." She put a hand up to her chin to think of her next question. "Why did you say "This was a bad idea," before you knew I was there?"

"You mean back in the ally?" Shadow asked getting the younger hedgehog to nod her head. "I was trying to calm myself down from the craving and thought that a quick run and some fresh air would help. Unfortunately running past people was only making it worse."

"O…Ya" Amy said looking down, "I guess running past the very thing your craving would make it more intense." After posing for a brief moment she looks up at Shadow, "Are people going to look at me funny at school tomorrow," She said reaching her hand up to her neck.

Shadow reached his hand up and gently placed it on hers to get her attention back, "No, the marks will be healed before morning comes. Vampires have a degree of healing abilities which is why they tend to lick after biting to help the wound to heal."

"So… vampire spit can heal?" Amy asked tilting her head a bit.

Shadow chuckles as he looks at her adorable expression, "I guess you can put it that way, yes." He let his hand move down and every so gently stroked her arm with the back of his fingers. To some degree he didn't even realize he was doing it but somehow… it just felt so right.

"Well that's good to know," The pink girl said with a cheerful little smile. She really did not want to explain that kind of bite mark to her friends. She looked back up to him when she thought of her next question, "How long have you been a vampire?"

"For much longer then I would prefer to recall," Shadow said, his voice was a little stiffer with this answer.

Amy heard the tone in his voice and decided not to press the matter any further. The next thought that popped into her head exited her. "O, did you get any cool super powers… like can you fly?" Amy said her eyes bright with excitement her tail even slightly wagging.

"I'm a vampire Amy, not a superhero." Shadow said giving her a sarcastic grin that only made her giggle. "No, I can't fly," he added rolling his eyes. "I did gain some rather unique abilities, plus I am a lot faster and stronger. I have much more power and energy than I did before, even more so after drinking blood. My senses like sight, smell and hearing where also enhanced as well as gaining an additional sense that's… well it's a little hard to describe. It's almost like a form of radar in my head but it doesn't really work when I let my guard down."

"O wow, that's so cool," Amy asked then gets a pondering look on her face. "if becoming a vampire gave you so many benefits did you get any disadvantages?"

"Well, other then the being forced to hurt people thing, I also have the typical vampire weakness including garlic," Shadow replied.

Suddenly something came to Amy's thoughts as she looked up at Shadow, "That's right, aren't vampire's normally hurt by sunlight. How are you not affected by the sun? you don't even sparkle!"

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "why would I sparkle?"

Amy blushed a little and looked down, "Oh, no reason."

Shadow raised an eyebrow, "Ya... ok...," he commented then looked down at his hands. "To answer your question under normal circumstances I would in fact burn in the sun." Shadow started to explain as he polled the glove off his right hand. There on his finger was a very elbaite looking gold ring and Amy looked at it in amazement. "This is called a Sun ring, it's a very old and very rare artifact that can protect the vampire wearing it from the light of the sun. As Long as I have this on I can walk around in the sun all day without being hurt by it."

"wow, that's amazing," Amy said as she reaches out and lightly touched it very impressed by the ring. Shadow held his hand still lettings her admire the ring. Amy then looked back up at him, "but why do you wear it under your glove, don't most people wear rings over there gloves?"

"As I said, these are very, very rare. If another vampire saw me with it they would try to kill me for it. Most would say that I am too young to be in position of something like this." Shadow explained as he takes his glove and start to put it back on. "The only other person who knows I have it is the person who gave it to me to help me feel more normally again."

Amy smiled up at Shadow, "well then I am glad you have it and I'm glad that it helps you," Amy commented happily thinking of her next question.

"Any more questions?" Shadow asked as he picked his hand back up and lightly cursed her check the same way he had been to her arm.

"No, not that I can think of but I will have more later," Amy replied. With all other thoughts out of her head it suddenly dawned on her the position they were in. She was sitting between Shadow's lags on the couch with her legs up over one of his. He had one arm around her back to hold her up as she rested against his chest. His other hand was tenderly cursing her cheek as he looked down at her with a worm expression. "Oh… I do have one more question," She said as she started blushing, "do you have a… a girlfriend?"

Shadow chuckled at this, realizing the position they were in as well. "At the moment I am one vary unattached hedgehog," Shadow said in a sly tone. He watched as his hand slid along her cheek and down to her chin. "But there is one girl I have had my eye on for some time and have been dying to make her mine," Shadow whispered in a rather alluring voice that sent a shiver down Amy's spine but she dare not look away from him. Shadow slowly let his hand cup her chin and his thumb lightly stroked her lower lip. "Amy Rose… will you be my girlfriend?"

Amy slowly nodded not wanting to knock his thumb off her lip, her face turning a very deep red. Shadow let a smirk came to his face as he leaned down placing a sweet tender kiss on her lips. Shadow's eyes closed followed by Amy as she melted into his tender kiss.

Once the kiss broke Amy smiled up at Shadow who smiled back. Suddenly Amy yawned realizing how tired she still was. "Shadow... I'm... getting... sleepy," Amy said as she slowly set her head back down on the strong males worm fluffy chest and closed her eyes.

Shadow lightly stocked her arm in a tender loving way, "sleep Amy, you will feel better in the morning." It wasn't long before she had fallen asleep. Not wanting to wake her and knowing that he could hear his alarm clock from there he decided to sleep as well. He gently placed his head on hers and slowly fell to sleep. A smile grew on his face as he dreamed of his beautiful rose.

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